1. Field
One embodiment of the invention relates to a reproduction apparatus and a reproduction method, which are suitably used in equipment having a digital broadcast receiving function, and particularly to an improved function of acquiring content through a network to reproduce the content.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known, switchover to digital television broadcasting has recently been promoted. Not only digital direct broadcasting by satellite (DBS) but also terrestrial digital broadcasting have been implemented in Japan.
Therefore, a digital broadcast receiver that receives digital television broadcasting is equipped with a function of selectively receiving satellite digital broadcasting and terrestrial digital broadcasting in addition to the existing terrestrial analog broadcasting. Currently this kind of digital broadcast receiver is also equipped with a network connection function.
The digital broadcast receiver is connected to a network by the network connection function along with a personal computer (PC) that constitutes a controller and a content server that can provide much content. Therefore, a content reproduction system that acquires content specified by the PC from the content server to reproduce the content can be constructed.
The digital broadcast receiver that can construct this kind of content reproduction system is generally configured to follow a digital media renderer (DMR) function pursuant to Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) based on Universal Plug-and-Play (UPnP) Audiovisual (AV) version 1.
In this case, the digital broadcast receiver receives an instruction from the PC to make a transition to two types of states, that is, a reproduction state in which content acquired from the content server is reproduced and a stop state in which the content reproduction is stopped. In the stop state, the digital broadcast receiver functions such that a program image currently broadcast in a channel received thereby is displayed on a screen.
It is assumed that a user selects plural content items from many content items that can be provided by the content server using the PC to perform a slideshow in which the digital broadcast receiver automatically reproduces the selected plural content items in order with a constant period.
In this case, the PC repeatedly provides an instruction to specify content selected from the content server, an instruction to acquire and reproduce the selected content, and an instruction to stop the content reproduction to the digital broadcast receiver.
As described above, when in the stop state, the digital broadcast receiver displays the program image currently broadcast in the channel received thereby on the screen. The digital broadcast receiver cannot distinguish whether the PC performs the slideshow or the content items are reproduced singly.
Therefore, the digital broadcast receiver displays the program image currently broadcast in the channel received thereby on the screen even while the slideshow is performed, when making the transition to the stop state in response to the stop instruction. Then the digital broadcast receiver displays reproduced image of the next content item acquired from the content server on the screen when receiving the next reproduction instruction.
That is, in the current content reproduction system, the currently broadcast program image is displayed on the screen even while the slideshow is performed when the digital broadcast receiver becomes the stop state. Therefore, the currently broadcast program image is displayed between the content images that are sequentially displayed on the screen by the slideshow.
For example, in a configuration disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2007-006443, when a display reproduction module that is connected to the network to be manipulated by a manipulation controller receives a tentatively stop instruction while reproducing content, a screen at that time is cut out from the content as a thumbnail image, which is then displayed on a manipulation panel of the manipulation controller.